So you want to get your own personalized website address? Or, maybe you just want to get a personalized email address for yourself or your business. After all, it doesn’t look too professional if your company name is “Global Industries Unlimited” and your email address is obviously provided by one of the many companies that gives a free email account to anyone.
So how do you go about getting a personalized website address or your own email address? Simple, you purchase a domain name. What is a domain name? It is simply the internet address for a website or email account. For example “pcmech.com” is the domain name of the site where you’re reading this article. If you purchased your own website or email site and used your last name as a domain name, your domain would be “yourlastname.com”.
So how do you get a domain name? Well, you may have heard that domain names management and assignment is handled by an organization called ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). That is true, but you won’t be dealing directly with them. Instead you will deal with a company that sells and registers domain names or a website/email provider that partners with such a company. To obtain a domain name you will start by visiting the website of a sales/registration company such as www.register.com, www.networksolutions.com, www.godaddy.com, www.yahoo.com, or www.aplus.net to name a few (just do a search for “domain names” to find many more companies that sell domain names).
Is The Name You Want Available?
Actually, the first step in obtaining a domain name is to pick the name you want. Keep in mind that the name you want has a good chance of already being taken, so you might want to make of list of names you would consider. Once you decide on what name or names you want, you will need to find out whether the name has already been taken. A good place to do this is the “who is” site: www.internic.net/whois. This site will also tell you who owns the name. More on this later.
You can also find out if a domain name is available at most domain dealer websites. When you visit the website of a company that sells domains one of the first things you will likely see is a search engine-like window where you can enter the name of the domain to find out if it is available. This is your first step in actually purchasing a domain — checking availability.
So let’s say you enter the name you want and you find it has already been taken. You have to find a new name right? Maybe, but if you look at the response most of the domain name search engines, you will see that they show other possibilities (if not, try one of the other domain search engines that does so). For instance, if you wanted “www.yourlastname.com“ and that was taken, the domain name search engine should show you other possibilities, such as the same name with a .net or .org extension. So you may be able to still use your last name as the domain name, but with an .org or .net extension.
Name Choices
Originally, the intent was that “.com” would be given to companies and “.org” would be given to (mostly nonprofit) organizations, and “.net” would be given to internet specific companies. That “rule” has pretty much disappeared. For instance, most personal websites have a .com extension even though there is no company involved. And the companies that sell domain names let the buyer choose almost any available extension (except .gov and .edu). And a number of choices exist, such as .com, .org, .biz, .bz, .cc, .and .tv to name a few. So if you really want a certain name, you can usually get it with another extension. Or, you could get creative with the name you want. If computerexpert.com isn’t available, then try yourcomputerexpert.com or thecomputerexpert.com.
When you search for existing domain names you might luck out and find that the name you want is available, but watch out! If you find a rather common domain name (one that you would expect would already be taken) is available you might find out if there is a reason why. If could be that a spammer used that domain name until the search engines blocked it. If so, you wouldn’t want to use it for your business name. It would be good idea to check “who is” (see below) to find out about the owner and search the domain name with a search engine to see if you can find anything.
Who Is?
Let’s say you just have to have a certain domain name with a .com ending, but it is taken. You still have a chance. Many times domain names have been purchased by people or companies who haven’t done much with them and might be willing to sell the domain name. In other cases domain names have been purchased by individuals just so they can resell them at a profit. If you’re willing to pay more, you may still be able to get that name.
To find out who owns the domain name you can go to www.internic.net/whois.html and enter the name. This site will tell you who the actual owner is and usually provides enough contact information for you to contact them and make an offer for the domain name.
Purchase The Name
Ok, you picked a domain you like and it is available. What now? Check the websites of the domain dealers you found. Find out their prices and services. You’ll find certain dealers only sell domains and nothing else. If you buy a domain from them, you will get just that, that domain name reserved on the internet for you. You still have to find a company to provide a website or email service on that domain.
Many of the companies that sell domains also offer to provide websites and/or email service with your domain. That makes it much easier than buying a domain from one company and then having another company provide website and email service. It pays to shop around a little. Keep in mind that it might be better to pay a little more to get better service. Some reliable sites to purchase domain names are http://godaddy.com , http://ipower.com , http://networksolutions.com , and http://domains.yahoo.com .
The Cost
So how much is this going to cost you? You can purchase a new domain for between $5 – $15 typically. However, certain extensions can run close to $50. You can find “specials” on recycled domain names for under $4. Keep in mind though; this isn’t a one time fee. Whatever you pay, you’ll have to pay each year (although multi-years discounts may be offered).
The domain name is one payment. Then you will have to pay a fee for your website/email service. That can be an additional cost. Free website service can be found, but typically you will pay $6 to $20 a month for a build it yourself website and $16 to $26 a year for email service with five names.
If you want your website designed for you, rather than you choosing from pre-designed features and doing it yourself, expect to pay a one time fee of $50 – $600 (or more). Make sure to add all these costs when shopping around. And remember, it doesn’t do you much good to get the lowest price if the website you purchase is difficult to build or manage or if the email program operation is poor.
Know This
A few other things you might be interested to know…
- They may lead you to think otherwise, but you’re not tied to the company who sells you the domain and the website/email account. You can go to another company and ask them to take over your domain and whatever accounts you have if you should become dissatisfied with your current provider. Just know that a domain transfer can take a week or more.
- Form the time you purchase a domain and website/email account until the time it is fully available can be 24 – 48 hours (or more). It can take awhile for a new domain to spread.
- Most domain name search sites cover the standard extensions, but other extensions exist. For instance extensions such as .fm, .and .ca have been obtained by special arrangement, such as a special payment or buying the service from a Canadian company, etc.
- Ask your domain dealer about “locking” you domain name. Under certain circumstances you domain can be lost if not secured.
- If you’re concerned about your personal information being available on a “who is” search engine you have can the information blocked by request. Ask your domain dealer.
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You could try http://www.domainnamesoup.com to find available domain names
Thanks for the tips to get a domain name. Very useful.